


Misfiled

by BohoOddity



Category: Space Force (TV)
Genre: Gen, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25747189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BohoOddity/pseuds/BohoOddity
Summary: "You’re a General! how do you lose a report?!"When you work at Space Force, even paperwork is a nightmare waiting to happen.
Relationships: Adrian Mallory & F. Tony Scarapiducci, Adrian Mallory & Mark R. Naird, Mark R. Naird & F. Tony Scarapiducci
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	Misfiled

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first piece of creative writing in a *very* long time. It's been fun but I know it's not the best! Constructive criticism is absolutely welcome but be please be kind :-) I’ve spent the last 6 years writing only dry business reports, and essays for university, so I’m rusty!
> 
> This originally came up in something else I am working on, but I thought it worked better as a stand-alone piece. Enjoy (or not!)

Adrian blinked his eyes, clearing the darkness of the hotel room. The world slowly came back into focus, the soft rattling against the door alerting him to the reason he was awake. Groaning, he covered his face with his hands he willed the person to go away. ‘That’s must be Tony’, he thought, recalling the previous evening’s conversation. The younger man had been insistent they grabbed breakfast early while the ‘good stuff’ was available. Adrian hadn’t thought he meant the crack of dawn.  
  
 _Knock knock knock._  
  
Glancing over to his phone on the bedside cabinet, he checked the time. 4:30 am. He slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, half hoping the younger man took the hint. As another, much louder, pounding began against the hotel door, Adrian realized he wasn’t giving up. He rose to his feet and stomped moodily over to the door.  
  
 _Knock knock knock, knock knock knock._  
  
“Do you know what time it is?” He said loudly as he opened the door, only to be somewhat surprised to see Mark and his hand almost colliding with his face.  
  
“Shh…” The General hushed him before he could say another word. Although not amused by the early morning wake up call, the look on Mark’s face said it was important. “I need your help, I can’t find the report.”  
  
As he said the words the door behind Naird opened, and Mark grimaced, realizing too late that his loud knocking would wake the other man too. This was the last thing he needed. “What’s going on?” A disheveled Tony asked, rubbing a hand through his unruly hair and barely mustering the energy to focus on anything.  
  
“Nothing! Go back to sleep!” Mark snapped back as he turned towards his room and gestured for Adrian to follow.  
  
“Okay cranky pants…” Tony got out through a yawn and rubbing one eye, somewhat resembling a sleepy toddler. The General turned back around, shooting him a daggered look. Tony realized his mistake and straightened. “I mean, bossman… Sir.” Nervously smiling, he gave the General his best ‘please don’t shoot me’ look.  
  
Adrian though was in no mood to suffer Mark alone, having had one too many early wake-up calls over some drama or another. Covering the distance between him, he lowered his voice and clued Tony in. “He’s lost the report.”  
  
“Seriously Adrian?!” Mark yelled.  
  
“He’s your media manager, this **is** his job!”  
  
“Wait! wait! THE report?” The situation was quickly dawning on Tony, his eyes wide and panic starting to take over and his voice getting louder, as he cleared away any remnants of sleep. Mark grimaced and took action before the entirety of Washington knew. He gestured them both down the corridor to his room, quickly shutting the door behind them.  
  
“Shh!! Yes, I’ve looked everywhere I can’t find it.”  
  
“Fuck! Oh fuck, this is bad!” Tony responded, almost dancing on his feet with his frantic pacing, running ahead of himself thinking of the PR nightmare if highly classified documents were found laying about a park bench. “You’re a *General*, how do you lose a report?! Where did you have it last?”  
  
“I don’t know,” Mark snapped back, “I don’t think it’s left the hotel.”  
  
“You don’t know?!” Tony gestured to Adrian, arms waving wildly as he gestured to the General. “Can you believe this? This from the man who once yelled at me over a stray paperclip!” Tony’s face was looking sweaty, he was already feeling the pressure. There was no way to spin this without the General looking completely inept.  
  
“Let’s all just take a moment,” Adrian said, opting to be the voice of reason, hands open, face down in the international sign of ‘calm down’ before redirecting the conversation back to Mark. “Well if it hasn’t, the only place it could be is here. Let's go over the room again in case you missed it.”  
  
“I’m a 4* General, you honestly think I wouldn’t notice a huge wedge of paper?” He asked, clearly offended at the suggestion he was somehow that clueless.  
  
“I didn’t think you would lose a classified report, but here we are.”

* * *

  
It was two hours later when they began to realize it was hopeless. Tony had moved through the stages of panic and had now reached an eerily calm acceptance which only made Mark even more disturbed. Drawers were pulled out with paper strewn across the floor. Clothes were thrown everywhere, the sofa and its cushions pulled apart, and even the plant pot had somehow found its way across the room. The bed had been completely stripped as realization dawned and the frenzied panic took over that perhaps they truly had lost a highly sensitive document and had no idea where it was. At one point Tony had left the room, checking discretely with the reception and nosing around the hotel in the hopes it had somehow grown legs and walked itself out of the room, but it was no use. It had seemingly vanished.  
  
“Hey look what I’ve found!” Tony piped up with excitement from behind the sofa frame, causing Adrian and Mark to look round hopefully. “Isn’t he cute?” He said as he held up a lightly worn stuffed bear, causing Mark to roll his eyes in frustration as Tony babbled on. “We should keep him! He could be a Space Force mascot!”  
  
“You could call him Eddy” Adrian suggested, mildly interested in the idea. It would certainly be something to add to the school outreach program.  
  
Tony’s eyes grew wide and a big grin took over. “Yes! I love it! Eddy the teddy! I could make him a little astronaut costume and...”  
  
“Put the damn bear down!” Mark shouted to Tony, “and for heaven's sake Adrian, don’t encourage him!” Adrian though noticed that although Tony lowered his hands, the bear remained firmly in his grasp. Mark continued, “I don’t know where else it could be, and look at the state of it in here.”  
  
“You know you should leave it,” Tony suggested, a thoughtful look ghosting his face. “This could raise your profile ‘the rebel General’, you know like The Who or The Rollin’ Stones…”  
  
“That’s not what we’re going for!” He exasperated. At that moment the shrill of the General’s phone cut through the room, saving Tony from the start of what promised to be an epic rant. “What!?” He answered moodily, almost shouting down the line.  
  
“Sorry General, is this a bad time?” The calming voice of Brad answered, the sharp tone of his superior officer causing not even a slight dip in his happy demeanor. Mark on hearing the soothing voice of his long time friend sank on the edge of the bed. “Sorry Brad, no it’s fine, just Tony... Is everything okay?”  
  
“Yes, it’s almost 7 am, I was just doing the morning check-in…” Knowing Brad could go on when he wanted and how he always sought the approval of Mark before making decisions no matter how trivial, Adrian and Brad made a start of neatening up the room. If there was going to be a news report detailing how a Joint Chief had casually lost highly sensitive materials, it was probably best to not come out alongside that same Joint Chief smashing up his hotel room, no matter how ‘rockstar’ it would look.  
  
As predicted, Brad discussed in great detail what had happened on the night shift, as well as catching the General up on deliveries received in overnight and discussing the planned roster the day: routine maintenance and performance checks and prep work for potential a potential rocket launch later in the week. In short, everything was running on schedule and hadn’t deviated from the plan. Brad hadn’t needed to call, but somehow listening to him prattle on for 20 minutes with very little input had calmed the General down. In that time, Adrian and Tony had managed to clear up most of the room, one a small pile of clothes remaining as evidence of the chaos that ruled earlier.  
  
“Thanks, Brad, that’s good to hear.” The General said as the call came to an end.  
  
“Oh, and I found the report on your desk. Chan was hanging around so I filed it away.”  
  
“You found the report?” He asked dumbfounded, frowning as he looking up and meeting the gazes of Adrian and Tony who were folding up the last of the clothes on the floor.  
  
“It was mixed up with Tony’s media proposal. I guess you did that to stop prying eyes. That’s a good idea seeing as no one ever reads it, but I guess that’s why you are a 4*... I’ve filed it away until you’re back, just in case. I hope you don’t mind…” Brad said, clearly worried that he’d made the wrong choice.  
  
Mark took a steadying breath.“No, good job, Brad.”, the relief in his voice audible. He couldn’t remember leaving it there or even opening Tony’s proposal, but he’d be the first to admit he’d been distracted lately. “We’re in meetings this morning, but I’ll check in with you after lunch.” The General said his goodbyes and hung up, turning to face the two other men.  
  
“Wait, so you didn’t bring it?” Tony said, looking at the General disbelievingly as he put his phone back in his pocket. “We’ve missed breakfast! I barely have time to shower!” He exclaimed. He paused for a moment, considering something before he raised his arm and awkwardly waved his armpit towards Naird and Mallory. “I’m so hungry, do you think I could get away with...?”  
  
“Are you serious? That’s your priority?” The General had barked back, pulling a face at the whiff when Tony came way too far into his personal space. He batted him away, arms raised. “Did you run a marathon in your sleep? Go take a shower!” Tony had the grace to look sheepish at his actions, and quickly put his arms down, muttering sulkily under his breath, ‘it’s not my fault the room is so hot.’  
  
Taking pity on the man who quite frankly had spent most the morning just as panicked and desperate as Naird, and not for any fault of his own, he offered an olive branch. “Look, I’ll buy you both something after the meeting.”  
  
Tony considered this for a moment before looking between the two men. “Can I pick the restaurant?”  
  
Adrian shrugged to Mark in response, knowing that their lively colleague would no doubt find the best restaurant in town if only to lighten Mark’s credit card. So, finding no resistance, Mark answered. “Sure but, for the love of all that is holy, take that shower.”  
  
Tony’s mood ever so slightly lifted and he excused himself. With Tony having left the room, Naird deflated slightly, the adrenaline that had fuelled the unexpected hunt leaving his body. As frustrated as Adrian felt from being woken up so early he took pity on the General. “You know, you are going to regret letting him pick the restaurant.”  
  
“Probably…” Mark chuckled humourlessly, pausing for a moment before continuing, “I could have sworn I had brought the document with me.” The General looked confused, as he stared at his briefcase in the corner of his room. Something was clearly on his mind, and truth be told Adrian was concerned. Mark wasn’t the type of General that left sensitive documents around.  
  
“You have been under a lot of pressure lately… perhaps the stress is affecting you more than you think.” It was true, between Maggie, Erin, his parents ill-health, and the chaos that was Space Force in its inaugural year, the pressure had been on. He’d been surprised that the General had managed as well as he had without much outside help.  
  
“I don’t do stress, Adrian.” Some of his previously frustrated tone making its way back as he shot the same daggered eyes he’d sent to Tony. That tactic never worked on Adrian though, and he shrugged it off, rolling his eyes and holding his hands up in mock defense. “Fine, well us mere mortals do require some care. If you don’t mind, I myself need a shower.”  
  
“Wait... thank you.” Mark wasn’t sure if he was thanking him for his hidden advice on managing his stress, or for helping rearrange the room in the search of the document, but it felt like the right thing to say. Adrian had no issue in saying what was needed, and it was something Mark had grown to appreciate. Adrian though didn’t turn back around. Mindful that apologies made the General extremely uncomfortable, he instead waved him away nonchalantly and headed off to his room to freshen up. “Any time, dear.” With that, Mark relaxed, knowing that whatever happened today, his two colleagues had his back.


End file.
